Ditching-machine.



P. J. WERTELEWSKI. DITGHING MACHINE. APPLIOATIOH FILED MAY 1, 1912.

1,048,014; I Patented Dec.'24,1912. v w

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0,, \vasnm 0000000 c.

FREDRICK J. WERTELEWSKI, OEGIBSONIBURG, OHIO.

DITCHING-MACHINE.

Specification of letters Patent.

Application filed May 1, 1912. Serial No. 694,502.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, FREDRICK J. VV'ERTE- LEWSKI, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gibsonburg, in the county of Sandusky and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ditching-Machines, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvements in ditching machines, and it has for its primary object a simple, durable and efficient construc- "tion of machine of this character in which the soil as it is excavated, is at once turned toone side of the ditch and leveled, and in which the mold board and land side are automatically adjustable. And the invention also aims to generally improve devices ofthis class and to render them'more useful;

and commercially desirable.

With these and other objects in view as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructlons, arrangements and comb1nations of the parts that I shall herelnafter fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention reference is to be had to the following de scription and accompanying drawings in whicha Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ditching machine embodying the improvements of my invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof; Fig. 3 is a detail rear perspective view of themold board and land side and their con- 1 nections detached from the rest of the machine, and, Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view, the section being taken on the line 44, of Fig. 1.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and, designated in the views of. the accompanying drawings by like reference characters.

The beam 1 of my improved ditching machineembodies an inclined intermediate portion 2 terminating in a substantiallyhorizontalforward end .3 to which a clevis 4 is connected, and terminating at its rear end in a substantially vertically disposed intermediate portion 5 from which a substantially horizontal rear end 6 extends, The seat spring? for the drivers seat Sis mounted on the rear end, 6 of. the beam 1,

has clearly illustrated in the drawings; ,Braces 9 are securedto the oppositeside faces of the rear end 6 'ofthe beam and ex Patented Dec. 24, 1 912. i

tend downwardly therefrom, the joined :5" lower ends. of said braces constituting a journal bearing for the axle of a rear ground wheel 10. Rearwardly and upwardly inclined handles 11 are secured to the braces 10, as shown.

12 desi nates the front This wheel isjournaled in a: ork formed on thellower end of a vertically disposed standard 13 which extendsupwardly through the round wheel.

forward end 3 of the beam and which is formed with rack teeth 14. A guide 15 is provided on the beam for the standard '13, anda pinion 16 'is secured to" an actuating rod 20 which is journaled at its forward end in said standard guide, the pinion meshing f with the rack teeth 14 of the standard. At

its rear end, the actuating rod 20 is jour naled in a bearing 21 and carries a hand wheelf22 in convenient proximity to the drivers'seat 8.

An excavator 23 in the form of avertically elongated substantially U-shaped loop and preferably composed of a bar having its upper ends riveted or otherwise secured to opposite sides ofthe main intermediate portion 2 of thebeam 1, extends downward in a substantially vertical position in operation and is designed to cut the ditch. A lifter 24 in the form of'a longitudinally elongated bar is secured at its forward end to the'i f lower end ofthe excavator 23, and extends in an inclined direction upwardly and rear- .wardly from the excavatontherear'upper end of the lifter being secured in any desired way to an angular bracket, 25 which is bolted, riveted, or otherwise fastened to the vertical intermediate portion 5 of the beam. Preferably, as clearly illustrated in Fig; 1, the lifter 24 is inclined laterally as] well as longitudinally, its landside edge extending above its mold board edge, whereby to assist in turning the soil out of the ditch.

' The mold board 26 of myimproved ditch-- ingmachine, which is at the rightof the...

machine facing forward, and the land side" 27 which is at the left side of the machine facing forward arec'onnected togetherby a transversely extending brace barv 28 under neath the lifter 24, said mold board'and land side being movable respectively in planes parallel to or coincident with the side edges of the lifter. The mold board and land side are both formed iwith'apertured ears29 by which they are mounted to move,

on guide rods 80 which are disposed longitudinally as shown, and which are arranged in parallel relation to each other on the under side of the lifter. The rear ends of the guide rods 30 are secured by any suitable fastening device to the rear upper end of the lifter and the forward ends of said rods are mounted in the apertured ends of a transversely extending rib 31 formed on the lower face of the lifter near the forward end of the latter. A contractile spring 32 is secured at one end to the rib 31 and is secured at its other end to the transversely extending brace bar 28, said spring exerting a tension on the mold board and land side and tending to draw them downwardly and forwardly, in an evident manner.

From the foregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawings, the operation of my improved ditching machine or plow will be apparent. As the machine operates, the excavator will dig into the soil and out a clean furrow and subsequently a ditch, the soil being lifted and turned to one side, by the combined ac tion of the lifter 24 and mold board 26, whereby the soil will not be merely loosened, butwill be carried free from the trench. The land side 27 and mold board 26 will ride on the surface of the ground at one side of the trench or ditch for the purpose of pushing the earth to the side of the trench and far enough away that it will not fall into the same and as the mold board travels on the top of the ground, the higher it will be from the bottom of the excavator as the latter cuts deeper into the ground. For example, on first trip with the excavator set to out, say, eight inches, the mold board will naturally travel at the surface of the ground pushing back the earth. On the return trip of the excavator cutting eight inches lower, the mold board must then be raised eight inches above the position it held on the first course and so on with the third and subsequent courses. As the ditch is deepened (for it will be understood that several operations will be required according to the depth it is desired the trench shall be when completed) the front ground wheel 12 will be vertically adjusted downward as required, by the operator merely turning the hand wheel 22.

Preferably, there is mounted on the rear upper side of the beam 1 near the forward end thereof an upright guide 33. As several operations along the same trench will be required to complete the ditch,,this guiding device will be found useful when the ditch is nearing completion. Being placed directly in front of the operator, he may constantly retain a proper sight on the run of the trench, the machine maintaining itself in upright position. If desired instruments such as used by surveyors or road engineers or the like may be attached to the guide 33 to facilitate the progress of the work.

While the accompanying drawings illustrate what I believe to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but that various changes may be made in the construction, arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. A machine of the character described, including a beam, a ditching excavator secured to said beam and depending therefrom, a lifter connected to the beam and extending upwardly and rearwardly from the excavator, and a mold board projecting laterally from the lifter and movable upwardly and rearwardly from the excavator.

2. A machine of the character described, including a beam, a ditching excavator secured to said beam and depending therefrom, a lifter connected to the beam and extending upwardly and rearwardly from the excavator, and a mold board carried by and projecting laterally from the lifter and tending to automatically move toward the lower end of the latter.

3. A machine of the character described, including a beam, a ditching excavator secured to said beam and depending therefrom, a lifter extending upwardly and rearwardly from the excavator and connected to the beam, a guide rod disposed longitudinally on the lower face of said lifter, a mold board movable longitudinally on said rod and projecting laterally from the lifter, and a spring connected to the mold board and lifter and tending to move the mold piogrd downwardly and forwardly, as specit. A machine of the character described, including a beam, a ditching excavator connected to said beam and depending therefrom, a lifter extending upwardly and rearwardly from the excavator and connected to the beam, rods extending in parallel relation to each other along the lower face of said lifter, means for supporting the rods, and a mold board and land side movable longitudinally on said rods, and automatically movable toward the lower forward end of the lifter.

5. A machine of the character described, including a beam, a ditching excavator connected to said beam and depending therefrom, a lifter extending upwardly and rearwardly from the lower end of the excavator and connected to said beam at the upper end of the lifter, rods secured to the lower face of the lifter and disposed in parallel relation to each other, a land side movable on one of said rods, at one side of said lifter,

a mold board movable on the other rod and projecting laterally from the opposite side of the lifter, a transverse brace connecting the mold board to the land side, and a condropped rear end terminating forwardly in a substantially vertical intermediate portion, an excavator secured to said beamnear the forward end thereof and extending downwardly fromthebeam, a lifter extend-- ing upwardly and" rearwardly from the lower end of the excavator,- and a bracket extending around and'secured to the ver tical intermediate portion of the beam'and connected to the rear upper end of the lifter.

7. A machine of the character described, including a beam, a ditching excavator secured to said beam and depending therefrom, a lifter sloping upwardly and rearwardly from the lower end of the excavator and secured-to the beam, and a mold board and land side carried by and projecting laterally from the lifter and tending to' automatically move towardthe lower end of the latter.

I In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my I signature in the presence of two witnesses- FREDRIGK, J. WERTELEWS K n Witnesses:

E, L. TRIEFIT,- I. P. HERNDEN..

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents'each, by addressing the Gommissionerof Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

